Ten persons were killed when a helicopter of the United Nations Mission in Nepal (UNMIN) crashed today in ward no. 9, Bhwansa, of Bethan VDC in Ramechhap district. Police said there were 12 persons, including the crew, aboard the chopper.The 301 MI-8 chopper was carrying UN staff who had gone to Jutpani of Chitwan district and Dudhauli of Sindhuli district for inspecting the Maoist People’s Liberation army camps there.While returning to Kathmandu, it hit a hill slope at Ramechhap’s Ghyang Danda and crashed at Bhwansa.Ramechhap deputy superintendent of police Khinu Prasad Acharya said that 10 bodies were retrieved from the crash site till this evening.He added that most of the bodies were mangled and unrecognisable.
The chopper had caught fire before crashing, he added.Bethan VDC resident Uttam Chalise said he saw the white helicopter burst into flames and crash to the ground at Bhwansa.Chalise said a storm was blowing and that it was raining heavily, adding that lightning also had struck at the time of the crash. Some 60 persons, including police personnel and locals, are engaged in search operation.
The lashing rain has made their task very difficult. Ramechhap civil aviation authority chief Ramesh Mahat said that radio contact with the chopper was lost three minutes after it took off from Dudhauli of Sindhuli.He said details of the cause of the mishap were not available.
UNMIN’s reactionKATHMANDU: UNMIN confirmed late on Monday night through a press release that the ill-fated helicopter was carrying seven UN personnel and three crew members.It has sent its team by road to the site of the chopper crash to confirm the status of the UNMIN employees on board. Earlier, UNMIN had said that it had lost contact with a Mission helicopter at around 4 pm while the chopper was returning to Kathmandu from the Maoist cantonment site at Sindhuli.It said UNMIN had contact with local authorities at Ramechhap, who advised that a chopper has crashed in the vicinity of the Bethan, that it has been located and that there are deaths.
The chopper had caught fire before crashing, he added.Bethan VDC resident Uttam Chalise said he saw the white helicopter burst into flames and crash to the ground at Bhwansa.Chalise said a storm was blowing and that it was raining heavily, adding that lightning also had struck at the time of the crash. Some 60 persons, including police personnel and locals, are engaged in search operation.
The lashing rain has made their task very difficult. Ramechhap civil aviation authority chief Ramesh Mahat said that radio contact with the chopper was lost three minutes after it took off from Dudhauli of Sindhuli.He said details of the cause of the mishap were not available.
UNMIN’s reactionKATHMANDU: UNMIN confirmed late on Monday night through a press release that the ill-fated helicopter was carrying seven UN personnel and three crew members.It has sent its team by road to the site of the chopper crash to confirm the status of the UNMIN employees on board. Earlier, UNMIN had said that it had lost contact with a Mission helicopter at around 4 pm while the chopper was returning to Kathmandu from the Maoist cantonment site at Sindhuli.It said UNMIN had contact with local authorities at Ramechhap, who advised that a chopper has crashed in the vicinity of the Bethan, that it has been located and that there are deaths.
SOURCE: THT, UNMIN, EKANTIPUR
No comments:
Post a Comment